HMML in India

HMML began its work in India in 2008, partnering with the Association for the Preservation of the Saint Thomas Christian Heritage (APSTCH) to preserve the cultural heritage of one of the largest Syriac communities in the world—the “Saint Thomas Christians” in Kerala India.

​Traditionally believed to have been founded by the Apostle Thomas, the “Saint Thomas Christians” of Kerala date their origins back in the middle of the First Century CE. Saint Thomas Christians combine the liturgical and literary traditions of the Syriac churches of Mesopotamia with local Hindu culture.

​Many of their manuscripts are written on palm leaves, a traditional form of writing support used in India for centuries. Among the thousands of archival materials in the collections from Kerala are 10,000 palm-leaf manuscripts written in native languages, some pre-dating and many post-dating the Portuguese colonial conquest in the 1500s.

In the News

From the Collection

All manuscript images subject to copyright. Want to know more? Email hmml@hmml.org. The collection from the Chaldean Syrian Church in Thissur, India are now on vHMML Reading Room. Search "APSTCH THRI" in the HMML Project Number field.